Arch Linux
The past couple of weeks I’ve been working with Arch Linux, and all I really have to say is wow! If you’ve worked with Linux at all, I bet it’s been Ubuntu, and don’t get me wrong, Ubuntu is great, but Arch is awesome. Arch focuses on simplicity and it does a good job of it. As a beginner, you could set up a server with Arch and not run into any issues. It’s also has a unique release system that’s always up-to-date. Everyday I’ve logged in any there’s always a new update, with this update system, you can make sure you are always running the latest and greatest, with other systems you’d have to wait 6 or more months for a update.
You can follow this guide and get an idea of how easy Arch is to use, all while you gain an understanding of what’s going on underneath the surface. If you’re installing a server, don’t worry about installing ASLA or X.
Arch also has a really great Wiki that has some guides to get you going with an SSH server, a LAMP server, FTP server, or almost anything you could need.
The package manager that Arch uses is pretty slick. Like I said earlier, it’s always up to date, and includes a good number of packages. There’s also a user managed repository, which you can find anything you’re looking for. While there are a couple of extra steps involved in installing a packing from the AUR, it’s a lot easier then building from source.
If you’re looking for a distro to run your next server, I fully recommend Arch Linux.
